Hi VintageJ,
Thanks for reaching out here. Adding users in QuickBooks Online and setting permissions that exclude access rights to the projects feature, currently isn't available. If you'd like to see additional options available in future updates you can submit a suggestion to our Development team. Here's a helpful guide with more information about user permissions and access rights in QuickBooks Online.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach back out. We'd be happy to help!